Afghanistan now main effort for US airpower

An Afghan air force Mi-17 pilot takes a first look at the cockpit of a UH-60 helicopter Oct. 2 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The Black Hawk is the latest addition to the growing air service. (Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel/Air Force)

The U.S. has modified bombers and added aircraft to Afghanistan to return focus to its campaign against the Taliban, the top general for the air campaign there said.

“Afghanistan has become CENTCOM’s main effort,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. James B. Hecker, the top U.S. and coalition air commander in Afghanistan. As major combat operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have ended, “this has allowed CENTCOM to shift more assets our way, which will significantly improve our ability to assist the Afghans.”

Service members stand alongside an newly arrived A-10 Thunderbolt II at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan on Jan. 23. The Warthogs are part of the U.S. effort to intensify the air campaign there. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

During a video conference with Pentagon reporters, DoD aired several video clips of airstrikes in the past several days that they said were part of the ramped-up effort. One clip showed a B-52 Stratofortress that had been modified with a rotary launcher to allow it to carry 24 precision guided munitions instead of its previous maximum load of 16. The modification allowed the bomber to strike three different Taliban sites, Hecker said.

In what appears to be a bit of deja vu for America’s longest war, U.S. troops will once again be patrolling alongside their Afghan counterparts in far larger numbers and at a more tactical level than the previous years.

By: Shawn Snow

The Afghan air force is similarly ramping up, Hecker said. It now has 12 A-29 Super Tucanos and will have 25 total; and three Afghan pilots are now trained to fire laser-guided munitions. The Afghan air force also has received the first eight of 159 total UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Their first Black Hawk pilots are in training and will be ready for combat operations by May, Hecker said.